Printers
Microsoft Windows XP supports the PnP feature that automatically detects and installs peripheral devices, such as mouse, printers, and scanners. To determine whether a new printer is supported by Windows operating system, you should check the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) provided by Microsoft for your version of Windows operating system. You should also check the printer's
documentation to see whether the device supports a particular version of Windows operating system.
Modern printers use a USB interface to connect to a computer. To install a USB printer, you should connect the printer to a computer and let the Windows XP PnP feature automatically detect and install the appropriate printer driver. If an operating system is unable to install the appropriate printer driver
automatically, you should use driver installation media provided by the printer manufacturer to install the printer on the computer.
If you want to install a parallel printer on a Windows XP computer, you should use the Add a printer option in the Printers and Faxes icon in Control Panel. You should read the instructions specified in the printer’s manual before installing a new printer.
Configure Printer Options and Default Settings
After installing the printer, you must configure the printer options and settings. To configure the printer options, you should adhere to the following steps:
Open Printers and Faxes from the Start menu.
Right-click the installed printer, and click Properties.
Click the Device Settings tab. You can configure printer options, such as the Form to Tray Assignment option that is used to set paper trays used by a printer.
To reset your printer to default settings, follow these steps:
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Open Printers and Faxes from the Start menu.
Right-click the installed printer, and click Properties.
Click the Advanced tab, and click Printing Defaults. This will reset your printer settings to default settings.
Printing a Test Page
You should print a test page to check if the printer is installed and configured correctly. By printing a test page, you can verify the printer configuration, such as data format, share name, location, driver name, and driver version. The test page also allows you to inspect the print quality.
To print a test page on a network printer in Windows XP computer, perform the following steps:
Click StartPrinters and Faxes to display the Printers window.
In the Printers window, right-click the printer, and select Properties.
On the General tab of the printer's Properties dialog box, click Print Test Page.
Note: You can use low-resolution printing to achieve high-speed printing with low quality.
Optimize Printer Performance
You can optimize printer performance by configuring printer settings, such as tray switching, print spool settings, device calibration, media types, and paper orientation.
You can configure tray switching from the Device Settings in the printer's Properties dialog box. To configure tray selection, follow these steps:
Open Printers and Faxes from the Start menu.
Right-click the installed printer, and click Properties.
On the General tab, click the Printing Preferences.
On the Paper/Quality tab, you can set Tray Selection options, such as Paper Source and Media Type.
To configure paper orientation, follow these steps:
Open Printers and Faxes from the Start menu.
Right-click the installed printer, and click Properties.
On the General tab, click the Printing Preferences.
On the Layout tab, you can set paper orientation by selecting Portrait or Landscape.
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Scanners
Scanners are used for scanning documents or pictures. Scanners are often compatible with parallel connectors, such as a computer's DB-25 female connector, which is often used to connect a parallel printer to a computer. Image scanners can connect to a computer through either a USB port or a parallel port. Other popular high-speed interfaces used by scanners include SCSI or IEEE 1394/FireWire. Some scanners also use the RS-232 serial port. However, the RS-232 serial port has a low bandwidth.
Therefore, nowadays scanners are rarely designed to transfer data to a computer by using RS-232 connections.
To install a scanner that uses a USB interface, you need to connect the scanner to the USB port on the computer and allow the Windows XP PnP feature to automatically detect the scanner and install the appropriate scanner driver. If you are installing a parallel scanner, you should install the scanner by using the Scanners and Cameras option in Control Panel and use the scanner driver installation media provided by the manufacturer.
Recap
Windows XP supports the PnP feature that automatically detects and installs peripheral devices, such as mouse and printers.
If an operating system is unable to install the appropriate printer driver automatically, you should use the driver installation media provided by the vendor to install a printer on a computer.
You should configure printer options to optimize a printer's performance.
You should print a test page to check if the printer is installed and configured correctly. By printing a test page, you can verify the printer configuration, such as data format, share name, location, driver name, and driver version.
You can optimize printer performance by configuring printer settings, such as tray switching, print spool settings, device calibration, media types, and paper orientation.
Scanners are used for scanning documents or pictures.
To install a USB scanner, connect the scanner to the USB port on the computer and allow the Windows XP PnP feature to automatically detect and install the appropriate scanner driver.
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